Natives - Small Trees, Shrubs, Grasses & Perennials

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Red Maple is a deciduous shade tree that is widely used in landscaping because it has good site tolerance. It has Clusters of small, red flowers appear in February and are followed by winged fruit in March. Fall color is variable yellow to red. Surface roots are common as the plant ages. 

Size: 40 to 50 feet tall with a spread of 24 to 35 feet Zones: Its habitat is low-lying areas and swamps. 

Sugar Maple is a deciduous shade tree best known for its brilliant yellow to orange to red fall color. It makes a great specimen, street or shade tree. It needs moist, well-drained, loamy soils and does not tolerate hot, dry sites. It produces dense shade, which may be a problem for sun-loving plants grown beneath its canopy. Size: 60 to 80 feet tall with a spread of 25 to 40 feet. 

Yellow Buckeye is a beautiful, fast-growing tree when properly grown. It can be used as a specimen tree since it provides good shade as well as ornamental flowers. It prefers, moist, well-drained soils and needs plenty of moisture. Yellow Buckeye is mainly found in extreme north Georgia, but it does occur in a few Piedmont counties. Size: 60' tall & 30' wide. Its habitat is in rich Appalachian soils in coves and in cool slope forests.

Down serviceberry, is a fragrant, spring blooming, white flowering deciduous tree. Its habitat is wooded slopes and cliffs, open woods and edges of swamps or rivers. Full sun to partial shade, neutral, sandy, loam, or clay soil that is moist and well drained. It has a multi-stemmed habit as a small tree or shrub. It’s 15 to 25’ tall and wide. The red to purple berries that appear in late summer to fall. It attracts bees, butterflies, songbirds and small mammals.

River Birch is a deciduous shade or specimen tree having a fast growth rate and has exfoliating, reddish-brown bark that ages to a dark gray-brown color. It requires adequate moisture during dry weather and prefers acid soils. Iron chlorosis may be a problem in high pH soils. 40 to 80’ tall & 40 to 65’ wide.  Its habitat is, well-drained soils along riverbanks and streams, swamps and flood plains. 

American hornbeam is a short, stubby deciduous tree. Its habitat is streambanks, riverbanks, and maritime forests. Grows slowly 20 to 30’ tall and 20 to 35’ wide. It has beautiful orange-red color in the fall. In spring, yellow-green, flowers mature. The small tree produces a small, ribbed nutlet that is carried by a 3-lobed leafy bract. This is a wildlife friendly tree perfect for a pollinator, food source for mammals and birds, and a cover plant.

Mockernut Hickory is a majestic native tree. The fall color of all hickories is an unmistakable, glowing, luminescent yellow. All have excellent wood for timber, and their nuts are coveted by wildlife. Size: 60 to 80 feet tall, with a sparse branching habit.  Its habitat is upland sites, valley areas and on slopes and ridges. Mockernut is the most common hickory in Georgia, is found in upland forests. They are excellent wildlife resources. 

Eastern redbud is a stunning deciduous tree. In early spring, before leaves appear, clusters of rose pink to light purple flowers mature and attract butterflies, bees and songbirds. It gets 20-30’ tall. Full sun or part shade but does not tolerate heat, drought or wet soils. It does not tolerate root disturbance, so plants should be placed in their permanent positions as soon as possible. 

Fringe tree is a small deciduous tree. In late spring, fragrant flower clusters with creamy white fringe-like petals appear. The showy blue-black fruits, maturing in late summer, provides a food source for birds and wildlife. It’s a fragrant specimen plant in landscapes and works well as a flowering tree in a native garden. It gets 15-20’ tall and grows best in full to part sun with the best foliage in partial shade and the best flowering in full sun.

Flowering dogwood is a well-known, beautiful, deciduous, flowering understory tree that attracts butterflies in the spring and songbirds and other mammals in the fall for its fruit. It’s perfect for a native or winter garden, accenting a patio or play area, a specimen, or shade tree. Its habitat is woodland edges. It grows 15 to 25 feet tall. 

Dogwood flower.

Washington hawthorn, a deciduous tree noted for its attractive flowers and foliage, bright red fruits long straight thorns, and fall color. It is a small, low-branching, deciduous tree that typically grows 25 to 30 feet tall with a rounded crown. It prefers full sun. It tolerates urban pollution, prefers well-drained soil, and is pH adaptable. It’s thorny and tolerates extensive pruning. It can be grown as a hedge for a screen or security and as a specimen tree.

The flowers of the Washington Hawthorn. 

The fruit of the Washington Hawthorn.

Loblolly Bay, is an evergreen tree that is commonly found in the coastal plains of North Carolina in moist areas. In summer it has spectacular fragrant, white Camellia-like flowers that can continue through frost. It reaches 35 to 70’ tall with a trunk diameter of 20 inches and a columnar or pyramidal, very open growth habit. The eventual size of the tree is dependent on soil moisture. Although evergreen, several individual leaves at a time will turn a brilliant scarlet color in the fall. 

Here's the Loblolly Bay Flower and foliage. 

Carolina silverbell is a native North Carolina flowering commonly found in the Great Smoky Mountains but extends throughout the upper Piedmont. In nature, it can usually be found in moist slopes, bottom lands. Rarely reaches 80’ tall. It likes well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. It suffers during drought so will need supplemental irrigation. It makes an attractive specimen plant for a shrub border or woodland garden. It’s sensitive to heat, drought and soil compaction.

Carolina Silverbell flowers up close. 

Narrow leaf crabapple is a shrub or small tree, 20 to 30’ tall. Its native habitat is mixed woods. In full sun or part shade will encourage more blooms and fruiting. Pruning is mostly for ground suckers or for shaping the tree by removing unwanted or problem branches. It provides for a multitude of wildlife ranging from birds and pollinators to multiple small mammals and deer. This may help to keep less desirable garden visitors away from more desirable crops in late summer through fall. 

Narrow Leaf Crab-Apple flower clusters. 

Wild Olive is a small, evergreen shrub reaching 15 to 20’ tall. In spring, small, fragrant white flowers mature on the previous year's growth. Its habitat is maritime forests and rich soil on the coastlines of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. This plant is dioecious; that is, male pollinator plants are required to get a female fruit set. It prefers partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. 

Wild Olive flower

Eastern hop-hornbeam is a slender deciduous tree It is found in dry, rocky forests and sloped areas and mountains. It may grow 20 to 35’ tall and it tolerates drought and heavy clay soils making it low maintenance and appropriate for urban settings. Shaggy bark provides winter interest. Note that the tree does not tolerate salt and would not do well in a seaside environment.

Hophornbeam flowers up-close! 

Sourwood is a deciduous small tree that may grow 20 to 30’ tall. Fall foliage is red to reddish-purple. This plant blooms in early summer with fragrant white, urn-shaped flowers mature on panicles. It prefers acidic, peaty, moist, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. It is intolerant of pollution and urban areas. It makes an excellent specimen or understory tree. Honey made from the nectar of these flowers is highly prized for its color and flavor.

Sourwood Flower up-close. 

Carolina Laurel Cherry is a small evergreen shrub to small tree that may easily grow to 35’ tall. The fresh leaves of this plant have a maraschino cherry fragrance when crushed and glands on the lower surface of the leaves. This species is native to the southern United States. Full sun is preferred but it is tolerant of shade if the soil is moist and well-drained. It’s very poisonous to humans when eaten.

Cherry Laurel flower up-close. 

 Common sassafras is an aromatic deciduous flowering tree. In early to mid-spring, small, bright yellow-green flower clusters are borne in 2-inch stalks on separate male and female trees. Female trees produce a blue, fleshy drupe that is borne in a red cup attached to a red stalk. In the fall, the leaves turn a beautiful yellow to orange to red. Its habitat can be found in woodlands, abandoned fields, groves, and along fences and roadsides. 

Sassafras Leaves up close. 

Bigleaf Snowbell is a deciduous tree. Its habitat is mesic to dry upland hardwood forests, on rocky slopes, and in ravines. It forms thickets. Commonly found as an understory tree in mature hardwood forests. Its white, bell-shaped showy flowers form as racemes, each having 5 to 20 flowers.  Some images indicate that the flowers may be partially concealed by its large leaves.  When in full bloom, this is not the case. 

Bigleaf Snowbell flowers & leaves.

Bottlebrush Buckeye is a deciduous shrub has beautiful golden-yellow fall color. It has stunning creamy white flowers that attract hummingbirds and Eastern swallowtail butterflies. It gets about 8-10’ tall & wide. It is very poisonous if eaten by humans.

Here's the flower.

Red buckeye is a small, deciduous shrub. Red flowers appear in 6 – 8” upright clusters that last for about a month and attract hummingbirds and butterflies. The fruit is not edible by humans, but squirrels love them. The attractive palmate leaves turn red and usually fall by the end of September. It gets 15 to 25’ tall.  Use this plant in woodland or naturalized areas, as a specimen, along ponds and streams, or in a wildlife garden.

American beautyberry is a deciduous shrub that produces showy purplish to bluish berries in August through October. Clusters of small flowers bloom on the stems during the late spring and early summer Beautyberry’s native habitat is open meadows, thickets, woodlands and margins of ponds, ditches and streams. It gets 3-8’ tall and wide. Space 4’ at least apart. It prefers full sun to part shade and is intolerant of deep shade.

This Beautyberry has beautiful fruit. Here's a close up.

Sweet shrub is a deciduous shrub. Its habitat is in the southeast growing in shady woodlands and along streambanks. It grows 6-12' tall and wide. It has showy fragrant blooms which have been described as combining hints of pineapple, strawberry, and banana. The aroma is stronger in higher temperatures. Great for specimen or foundation planting. 

This has a beautiful flower. Here's a close up.

Summersweet Clethra, is a deciduous flowering shrub. The flowers produce high quality nectar and pollen that supports hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators. The shrub produces a brown, dry capsule that matures in the fall and provides seed to birds during the winter. Summersweet Clethra are unique among flowering shrubs because they bloom in shady locations in late summer when few other shrubs are in bloom. It gets 5-10 tall and wide. 

Black Titi is an evergreen plant and likes sun to partial shade as well as moist to wet, sandy soil. It forms a crooked, multi-stemmed tree. This plant colonizes. It has beautiful, fragrant flowers that attract bees and pollinators. 

Red Titi is an evergreen, semi-evergreen or tardily deciduous shrub. It will eventually develop into a small tree with contorted stems, smooth, cinnamon-colored young flaky bark. Showy white clusters of summer flowers and orange-red fall color make this a nice ornamental tree for the home landscape. Attracts pollinators. It can form thickets providing cover for wildlife, especially in wet sites. Use this tree as a specimen, in a native garden, along ponds, streams, bogs or other wet sites. 

Strawberry Bush is a low maintenance deciduous suckering shrub. Spring flowers are small and non-showy but fall leaf color is a showy red. It is native to wooded slopes, moist woodland and creek or river areas, and is found in a variety of soil conditions ranging from sandy to clay. Fruits and seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals. Plant in a woodland naturalized area for best results.   

Fothergilla is a deciduous shrub. It is apt to grow in wet savannas and bogs. It’s named for John Fothergill, British physician and botanist who died in 1780. The specific name honors Alexander Garden (1730-1791), a Scottish physician and plant enthusiast who introduced the plant to England. Bees, and pollinators are attracted to this honey-scented shrub. It works well planted along a foundation, as a specimen plant in a woodland or cottage garden grouped in mass to create a low hedge. 

Witch hazel is a deciduous shrub that may grow 15 to 20 feet tall. It may be found growing along woodland margins and stream banks. Plant in full sun to partial shade, though the best flowering will be seen in full sun locations. Soil should be moist, acidic, organically rich and well-draining. Pruning can be done in early spring. Witch hazel is intolerant of drought, but it does tolerate heavy clay soil, erosion, and browsing by deer.

Oakleaf hydrangea is an upright, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub. It prefers moist woods and stream banks. It may grow to 8’ tall and wide. It grows best in organically rich soils with medium moisture and does well in full sun to part shade. It blooms from mid spring to early summer. Prune immediately after blooming for best results. The beautiful creamy white flowers are very showy. Up to 8’ tall & wide. It can be used as a specimen, massed or arranged as an informal hedge in the landscape.

Inkberry Holly is a slow-growing, upright-rounded, stoloniferous, broadleaf evergreen shrub in the holly family. It typically matures to 5 to 10 feet tall. Its habitat is sandy woods and peripheries of swamps and bogs. This plant is moderately salt-tolerant and adaptable to both light and heavy soils. The honey produced from the plant is a highly-rated honey that results from bees feeding on inkberry flowers. 

Winterberry holly is a slow-growing, deciduous tree or shrub. It may grow 3 to15’ tall and wide. The red berries that mature in the fall provide winter interest and food for birds and small mammals. It requires moist, acidic soil with good drainage in deep or partial shade, or full sun. It tolerates heat, drought, and soil compaction. It may abort fruit set in dry soil. It makes a nice border hedge in pond areas or rain gardens.

Fall / Winter display of fruit.

 The Florida anise tree is an attractive evergreen shrub. It grows in part to full shade. It is not drought tolerant and therefore requires moist, rich soil to grow. It tolerates heavy shade, erosion, and wet planting sites, but is not cold hardy. The foliage is attractive and aromatic, smelling like anise spice when crushed or bruised. Flowers are dark red, appearing in the early spring. The leaves repel or are toxic to insects, making it pest resistant.

Yellow Anise Tree is a large, evergreen shrub that likes partial to full shade. It is moderately drought tolerant and prefers moist but well-drained soil. It has a vigorous growth rate and reaches 15 to 20’ tall and 10 to 15’ wide. It blooms from May to June and may sucker to form colonies. It does not change color in the fall. Use as a screen or hedge and makes an excellent foundation plant. This plant is particularly resistant to damage by deer.

 Virginia Sweetspire is a deciduous to a semi-evergreen shrub that is found in the southeast USA on streambanks and wet pine barrens. It can grow up to 8’ tall and has graceful arching branches. In early summer, small, fragrant, white flowers occur in terminal arching racemes. Fall color is red to purple and lasts well into winter. Its fragrant summer blooms attract butterflies and many other species. 

Mountain laurel is an evergreen shrub or small tree. Its habitats are rocky or sandy woods, cool meadows, mountain slopes and woodland margins. It can grow 6-10’ tall as a dense, rounded shrub, opening with age. Likes partial shade (morning sun to mid-afternoon shade) and in cool, moist, humus-rich, well-drained soils. Flowers occur in spring to early summer, attracting bees and other pollinators. Use in a meadow, naturalized, or woodland area, and as an accent, butterfly, or pollinator garden.

Mountain doghobble is an evergreen shrub and grows 3 to 6 feet tall. Its habitat is wet ravines and streambanks and is frequently associated with Rhododendron maximum thickets. It is best grown in moist soils, although it can be grown in a variety of soil types. Likes partial shade but can grow in full shade or full sun if it has consistent moisture. Bell shaped; white, fragrant flowers occur in April into June. It fits well as a hedge, specimen, or accent plant in a native pollinator garden.

Spicebush is a deciduous shrub that may grow to 8 to 15’ tall that can be found in rich forests, dry forests on slopes, and swamps. The leaves are alternate with a smooth margin. Leaves produce a spicy odor when crushed. In spring, small, yellow flowers mature in axillary clusters. The shrub produces a bright red drupe with a peppery taste and scent. This plant is dieocious, which means female fruit sets need male pollinator plants to reproduce. This plant has good, yellow fall color.

Spice Bush flowers.

Wax Myrtle is an evergreen shrub that grows in full sun or shade. It’s found in marshes, forests, swamps, and fresh to brackish streams. It’s great in wetlands or restoration gardens or on a bank for erosion control. Also attractive as a small tree with lower limbs removed. It’s most often dioecious and requires both male and female-flowering for good berry production. It fixes atmospheric nitrogen which helps it survive in poor soils. Attractive to butterflies, hummingbirds and other mamma

Sothern Wax Myrtle fruit.